Deterring animals, particularly wild or feral animals, from entering a particular area or location is problematic for many individuals, specifically home owners and residents. Whether it be preventing animals from entering a portion of an individual's home (e.g., attic), an individual's swimming pool, or other area, many individuals are desirous to prevent, or at the very least deter, animals from entering these areas in a safe, effective, and cost-efficient way. One method of deterring animals includes the timely and costly process of setting traps, which may have little to no success. Another method includes employing the use of chemical sprays, which can be messy, hazardous to the individual and/or public, cause damage to the surface to which it is applied, and may have a limited applicability to only certain species of animals. As such, one known method of deterring animals includes the use of removable spiked mats.
There are a variety of known spiked mats. Some of these mats are designed to puncture the tires of a vehicle or intentionally injure an animal, so they include spikes of a very rigid material, e.g., steel, and that are very sharp. Such strips would not be conducive to act as a barrier or deterrent for animals for many users because said strips would likely cause severe injuries to the animal(s)—causing other ancillary problems—and are relatively cumbersome and difficult to transport and install. More importantly, such strips would also be prone to causing injuries to the user or passerbyers. As such, many users desire a removable spiked strip that effectively deters animals from entering a particular area of potentially varying dimensions, with varying surface placement topography, and does so in a humane or non-injurious manner.
Some known devices attempt to fulfill or remedy some of the above problems by employing a removable strip with plastic spikes having rounded tips tightly spaced apart from one another in a uniform fashion and having uniform lengths. Similar to the above lethal or more injurious spike mats, however, those spiked mats designed to be non-injurious are limited in shape, size, and application. Said another way, those mats are designed for a particular purpose and application, and have a spiked configuration conducive for deterring a particular species of animal.
Another type of known spiked mat that is removable is described in International Publication WO 00/78137 (Bushell, Roger). Similar to the above mats, however, this mat is provided in uniform sizes and shapes and spiked configurations. While it does provide for the ability to joint multiple mats together, it does not sufficiently accommodate or contour to placement surfaces of varying topographies. Moreover, said mat also leaves exposed the connecting elements (labeled in said reference as numeral 52) without any spikes, wherein said connecting elements 52 are designed to join multiple mats together. As such, said connecting elements 52 problematically provide a means for animals to tamper with and/or move the mat out of its designated area.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.